Recent news

Renowned fly fishing manufacturer Sage introduces two new model ranges to its lineup. First up is the MOD, which is designed and handcrafted on Bainbridge Island, USA with Sage’s Konnetic Technology®. Thoughtfully crafted with contemporary line designs and angling styles in mind, the MOD is a modern interpretation… Read more

In my November 2014 blog post, I discussed the mouse plague that this region was likely to experience over the season. Well, it happened! It wasn’t the massive mice and rat plague we’ve seen in previous seasons (1999/2000, for example) but on certain rivers in the Nelson/Marlborough region there were mice simply… Read more

The last weekend in April saw Owen River Lodge open its doors for the annual Casting For Recovery South Island retreat. It’s the third time we’ve hosted this very special event. Casting For Recovery offers retreats free of charge to people who have, or have had, breast cancer. Participants get to take some time out, be pampered,… Read more

As an angler, if you’re very lucky, there is one day that outshines all others. One lucky couple had theirs here last week. Wayne and Vicki are from Melbourne and have just completed their fourth stay at Owen River Lodge. They learned to fly fish here on their first visit in October 2012, so you could say they’re… Read more

If you’ve ever thought about fly fishing for huge wild brown trout in New Zealand, then this season is the time to come ! Why I hear you say ? Well to cut a long story short, there is a mice and rat plague in the beech forests in some parts of the South Island of New Zealand. These furry little critters are… Read more

Over the past few months, we’ve been waiting to see if the mouse and rat plague predicted by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) will eventuate. I can now state with a reasonable degree of certainty that although it’s taken longer to manifest than originally thought, we are definitely in the midst of a mouse… Read more

I think there are several really important things that make up a truly great fishing lodge: the accommodations, the food, the staff, the location, the fishery, the fishing guides and the loan gear. We all know what a hassle it is packing and traveling with fishing gear. So we’ve taken the pain out of staying and fishing with… Read more

Sage, the leader is fly rod design and manufacture has released a new range of medium-fast action single-hand, switch and two-hand fly rods to the market with the ACCEL series by reinventing proven Generation 5 technology. Adding a graphite hoop core and axial fiber material in the new Generation 5 technology allowed for a lighter,… Read more

Fish and Game are the organization delegated by the New Zealand government to manage the freshwater fishery, has introduced a new licence type for non-resident anglers. So, for this upcoming season there are two licences available:· A 24-hour licence at a cost of NZ $25 per angler, per day. There are no limits on the number… Read more

We’ve had Wi-Fi available in the main lodge building since opening but to be honest, we have struggled to get the signal out to all the guest cottage suites…. I’m pleased to let all our guests know that we have upgraded our Wi-Fi network and, as a consequence, Wi-Fi is now available in all our guest cottage suites. Naturally… Read more

Each season sees several groups of hosted traveling anglers stay and fish at Owen River Lodge. This upcoming season is no different with Barry & Cathy Beck and April Vokey hosting groups of anglers during season 2014 2015. April Vokey : Nov 30 > December 7 April hails from British Columbia and is an avid… Read more

We are honoured to have been awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 2014. This is the 5th year in a row we have been awarded TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence. We would like to thank all of our wonderful guests that have taken the time to write a TripAdvisor review!

Every 5 or 6 years, a mouse plague explodes in the beech forests of New Zealand. These plagues are driven by the simultaneous seeding or flowering of the native New Zealand beech tree. This produces a glut of seeds or nuts that the rats & mice feast on. With rodents producing 10 offspring every 8 weeks, the plagues can eventually… Read more

The rivers that surround Owen River Lodge are inhabited by wild brown trout. It’s no coincidence that wild trout live in wild places and it doesn’t matter where you go in this world, if you fly fish for trout the weather can – and quite often does – play a significant role. Indeed, the quality of the wild trout fishery… Read more

June 13 saw Sage Manufacturing announces the release of its 2014 premier collection of high performance rods called the METHOD series. These ultra-fast fly rods use Sage’s proprietary Konnetic technology. The METHOD delivers high line speeds and tight loops for extreme distance and wind-cutting casts all while maintaining… Read more